On this date in 1977, IAN DURY released his debut album NEW BOOTS AND PANTIES!! (September 30th, 1977). Ian Dury was a true one-off. An art school lecturer with a pub rock past, his 1977 calling card NEW BOOTS AND PANTIES welded working-class estuary wit and musical hall sensibilities to wildly inspired jazz rock flights of fancy. Spending over a year in the albums chart (while unbelievably spawning nothing in the way of hit singles), the record's success kept Stiff Records afloat before the pop machine that was Madness came along...
1661 Yachting begins in England as King Charles II beats his brother James, Duke of York in a yacht race from Greenwich to Gravesend.
1843 The News of the World, Britain's most popular Sunday newspaper, was first published. It was, at one time, the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, but amid a public backlash after allegations of phone hacking, News International announced the closure of the newspaper on 7th July 2011.
1868 The Midland Railway opened St. Pancras station in London.
1870 The first British halfpenny postage stamp, in lilac, was issued.
1906 The first hot-air balloon race was staged at Whitley, Yorkshire and was won by US Army Lieutenant Frank Lahm.
1908 Henry Ford introduces the Model T car.
1936 The BBC began regular TV broadcasts from Alexandra Palace, north London.
1954 The UK Top 12 Pop Chart became a Top 20.
1957 A vaccine against the strain of influenza that had been sweeping around the world was made available to the British public.
1961 The Beach Boys record their debut single "Surfin", introducing a new musical style.
1969 Concorde 001 test flight breaks sound barrier.
1962 The Beatles sign their first real management contract with Brian Epstein, with George's and Paul's fathers signing for their sons, who are still minors. Epstein gets 25 percent of the group's earnings.
1974 "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" horror film premieres in director Tobe Hooper's hometown, Austin, Texas in the US.
1974 The first McDonalds restaurant opened in London.
1974 British boxer John Conteh became Light Heavyweight Champion of the World.
1975 "The Thrilla in Manila"; Muhammad Ali stops Joe Frazier in 14 rounds in Quezon City, the Philippines to retain his WBC/WBA heavyweight title.
1977 Brazilian soccer great Pelé plays his final game for the New York Cosmos in an exhibition against Santos in front of 75,000 at Giants Stadium; 1,281 goals in 1,363 games.
1982 The Sony CDP-101, world's first commercially released Compact Disc player released in Japan for 168,000 yen ($730).
1993 In his first World Boxing Council heavyweight title defence Lennox Lewis beats fellow Londoner Frank Bruno by TKO in 7 at the National Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
1996 After weeks of speculation and waiting Arsène Wenger finally has his first day in charge of Arsenal. He was not a universally popular appointment. Ex Barcelona manager Johan Cruyff had been favourite for the job so the appointment of an unknown Frenchman managing Grampus Eight in Japan was met by a London Evening Standard headline of ‘Arsene who?’ and a nation trying to come to terms with how to pronounce his name. Things would change.
2014 The vehicle tax disc, first introduced in 1921, ceased to exist in paper form from 1st October, with a new electronic system being put in its place.
2017 Former NFL star O.J. Simpson is released from Nevada's Lovelock Prison after less than 9 years of detention of his 33 year sentence for armed robbery and kidnapping.
2017 During Jason Aldean's headlining set at the Route 91 Harvest festival on the Las Vegas strip, a gunman opens fire from his suite at the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel, killing 58 and injuring over 500 in the deadliest mass shooting in US history.
1866 J Osterhoudt patents tin can with key opener.
1872 Phileas Fogg sets out on his journey as depicted in Jules Verne's "Around the World in Eighty Days"
1901 The Royal Navy's first submarine, built by Vickers, was launched at Barrow. The company's shipbuilding division is now BAE Systems Submarine Solutions.
1909 The first rugby football match was played at Twickenham, between Harlequins and Richmond.
1925 London's first red buses with roofed-in upper decks went into service, but they had been in use in Widnes, Cheshire, since 1909.
1925 John Logie Baird performed the first test of a working television system. Although Baird's electromechanical system was eventually displaced by purely electronic systems, his early successes earned him a prominent place in television's invention.
1945 Elvis Presley, just ten years old, makes his first public appearance at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show singing "Old Shep" in a talent contest. He comes in second.
1950 Legal Aid was introduced in Britain.
1953 A photograph of William Pettit, wanted for murder, was shown on BBC TV at the request of the police - the first time in Britain that television was used to help find a wanted man.
1954 Elvis Presley bombs at the Grand Ole Opry, which does not approve of his take on traditional country music. The Opry's talent director, Jim Denny, famously tells Presley he should go back to driving a truck. Elvis swears never to return.
1957 "The Bridge on the River Kwai" is released.
1971 It was nice to see you, to see you nice, when The Generation Game first aired, hosted by Bruce Forsyth and Anthea Redfern.
1977 After a plot is uncovered to steal it, Elvis Presley's body is moved from its Memphis mausoleum to its final resting place in the Meditation Garden at Graceland.
1980 38 year old Muhammad Ali comes out of 2-year retirement to challenge undefeated world heavyweight champion Larry Holmes at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas; Ali pounded unmercifully for 10 rounds before corner throws in towel.
1983 Neil Kinnock was elected leader of Britain's Labour Party, with Roy Hattersley joining him as deputy.
1984 Papa John's Pizza is founded by John Schnatter in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
1988 Future world heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis, representing Canada, wins super-heavyweight gold medal at the Seoul Olympics; beats American Riddick Bowe by 2nd round TKO.
1991 Ron Chassidy (who had been jailed for not paying his poll tax) was released after a 'whip-round' at his local pub so that he could play in a dominoes match.
1995 British band Oasis release their album "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" it sells a record 347,000 copies in the 1st week and makes worldwide stars of the rock band.
2018 Saudi American journalist Jamal Khashoggi enters the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, never to be seen again prompting a diplomatic crisis.
The idea of using red and yellow cards by referees was credited to Ken Ashton. An Englishman, he had refereed at the top level and was well-versed in the problems refs had communicating with players, particularly when differing languages were concerned. As he was driving down Kensington High Street in London a traffic light in front of him turned red. He thought what was good enough for the traffic would be perfect for referees - 'Yellow, take it easy; red, stop, you're off’. The cards were trialed at the 1970 World Cup finals in Mexico and it was in 1976 that they were introduced in the Football League. On Saturday 2nd October 1976 the first two players were red-carded in the Football League. The first was David Wagstaff of Blackburn Rovers after 36 minutes of their Second Division match at Orient after arguing with the ref. The second came in the 67th minute of another Second Division match when a Fulham player was red-carded for foul language at Southampton. That Fulham player was George Best - guess which player got the most publicity.
On this date in 1979, THE SPECIALS were guests on The Old Grey Whistle Test, (October 2nd, 1979).
On the show to promote their forthcoming debut album (The Specials, 19th Oct) and new single A MESSAGE TO YOU RUDY (Oct 27th), The Specials also performed TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG, the future follow-up (live) single to ‘Rudy’.
"This should have been our next single but they wouldn't play it on the radio," explained Terry Hall, introducing Too Much Too Young.
Despite his protestations, the single wasn’t actually banned by the BBC for the mention of contraception in the lyrics. However, the TOTP broadcast of the promo video did cut short before reaching the final line, "try wearing a cap".
1283 Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd and the last independent ruler of Wales, became the first nobleman to be executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered; for plotting the death of King Edward I. Dafydd was dragged through the streets of Shrewsbury attached to a horse's tail then hanged alive, revived, then disembowelled and his entrails burned before him before being cut into four quarters.
1811 The first recorded women's county cricket match - between Hampshire and Surrey at Newington.
1906 SOS became the international distress signal, replacing the call sign CDQ, sometimes explained as ‘Come **** Quick!’
1932 Iraq gained independence from Britain. In 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Republic of Iraq was created.
1952 Britain's first atomic bomb was detonated on the Monte Bello Islands, off W. Australia.
1952 News of the end of tea rationing meant the prospect of unlimited 'cuppas' for the first time in 12 years.
1959 Postcodes were introduced in Britain.
1971 Scotsman Jackie Stewart finishes 5th in the season ending US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen to claim his second Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by 29 points from Swede Ronnie Peterson.
1995 Former NFL running back, broadcaster and actor O.J. Simpson found not guilty of the murder of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman in Los Angeles, California.
2008 Former NFL star O.J. Simpson found guilty of charges of kidnapping and armed robbery.
2012 Cristiano Ronaldo scores his first Champions League hat-trick in Real Madrid's 4-1 win against Ajax in Amsterdam.
2014 The cast and crew of the BBC's Top Gear had to abandon their vehicles and flee Argentina after they were pelted with stones. A crowd was incensed that one of their vehicles had a number plate (H982 FKL) that appeared to refer to the Falklands conflict of 1982.
1883 The Orient Express departs on its first official journey from Paris to Istanbul.
1895 1st US Open Men's Golf, Newport GC: Englishman Horace Rawlins wins inaugural event; beats Willie Dunn of Scotland by 2 strokes.
1911 Britain's first underground escalators were introduced. They connected the District Line and Piccadilly Line platforms at Earl's Court underground station in London.
1958 Aviation history was made when 2 British designed and built De Havilland Comet 4 airliners operated by BOAC (now British Airways) made the first scheduled jet passenger service flights across the North Atlantic.
1963 The Beatles made their first appearance on the ITV show Ready Steady Go!
1965 The BBC announced it would begin broadcasting a new programme for immigrants.
1970 Jochen Rindt of Austria posthumously clinches Formula 1 World Drivers Championship at the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen when contender Jacky Ickx finishes 4th; Rindt killed in a practice accident at the Italian GP at Monza 5/9/70.
1970 Janis Joplin is found dead at the Landmark Hotel in Los Angeles after a heroin overdose. She was just 27.
1973 The BBC broadcast the 500th edition of Top Of The Pops.
1976 British Rail began its new 125mph Intercity 'High Speed Train' service. At the time of its introduction it was the fastest diesel-powered train in regular service in the world and remained so for many years afterwards.
1983 The Scottish entrepreneur Richard Noble reached a world land speed record of 663.5mph at Nevada in his jet-powered car Thrust II.
2006 WikiLeaks is launched, created by internet activist Julian Assange.
2012 7-time Formula 1 world drivers champion Michael Schumacher of Germany announces his retirement from racing at the end of the season.
2013 London won the coveted title of number one 'C rap Town' in the UK, held for the previous decade by Hull.
2014 Newcastle United fans thought of a novel way of protesting against their manager, Alan Pardew, on an away-day Premier League visit to Swansea City. They unveiled an apt banner - 'Not a Welsh town, our form in 2014' - which detailed their poor playing form in 2014, mainly Ls and Ds. It proved to be an immediate hit with the media although a few newspapers did spend far too long listing all the Welsh towns that don't have a vowel in their name! For the record it was another D that day (2-2) while Pardew stayed in the job for another 3 months before deciding that a move to Crystal Palace would benefit his career.
2015 Liverpool sacked manager Brendan Rodgers following a 1-1 draw at Everton. The current Leicester City boss was dismissed after three and a half years in charge at Anfield. He led the Reds to second place in the 2013-14 Premier League season, however they sat 10th in the table following their point in the Merseyside derby in October 2015. Former Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp was appointed as his successor a few days later.
The story starts back in 1886 when a number of men who worked in the Dial Square workshop of the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich decided to form a cricket team. It was very much “say what you see” back in those days and they called themselves Dial Square Cricket Club.
At the club’s end of year smoking concert on 4 October 1886 they decided to form a football club to give themselves something to occupy their Saturday afternoons with. They chose the obvious name of Dial Square Football Club.
They were led by a Scotsman, David Danskin, who purchased the club's first football, and Jack Humble. Among their number was the former Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Fred Beardsley, who would later along with Morris Bates obtain a set of red kits from his old club, thus giving Arsenal the colours they still wear today.
Dial Square played their first match on 11 December 1886 against Eastern Wanderers on an open field on the Isle of Dogs, which they won 6–0.
1796 Spain declared war on Britain in the Napoleonic Wars.
1895 The first individual time trial for racing cyclists was held on a 50 mile course north of London.
1916 Adolf Hitler is wounded in the left thigh by an exploding shell during the Battle of the Somme.
1917 Sir Arthur Lee donated Chequers in Buckinghamshire to the nation as a permanent country retreat for British Prime Ministers.
1927 At its conference in Blackpool, the Labour Party voted to nationalise the coal industry.
1930 The British airship R101 crashed at the edge of a wood near Beauvais in France en route to India on its maiden voyage, killing 48 of the 54 passengers, including the British Air Minister Lord Thompson who may well have contributed to the disaster. He brought luggage on board equivalent to the weight of about 24 people, and the crash of the 777 foot craft was thought to be a result of overloading.
1933 Gordon Richards, English champion jockey, rode his 12th consecutive win in 3 days.
1936 The start of the 'Jarrow March' - around 200 unemployed shipyard workers from Jarrow in north east England began walking to London to protest about the lack of jobs. The protestors arrived on 31st October.Only men participated in the historic march, apart from Jarrow's female MP, Ellen Wilkinson.
1958 Cliff Richard & The Shadows played their first gig together (Victoria Hall, Hanley).
1962 In Britain, an emerging pop group, 'The Beatles' released their first hit record 'Love Me Do'.
1962 Dr. No, the first James Bond film, was released. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name it starred Sean Connery as the secret agent 007. The film was produced with a low budget, the first of a successful series of 22 Bond films.
1967 For the first time in Britain, a court in Brighton accepted a 'majority verdict' from a jury instead of the usual 'unanimous verdict' required previously.
1969 The first episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus aired on BBC. In all, 45 episodes were created over four series, from 1969 to 1974, plus two episodes for German TV. The series' theme song was the first segment of John Philip Sousa's The Liberty Bell, chosen because it was in the public domain and was free to use without charge.
1973 "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" album by Elton John is released.
1975 Austrian Niki Lauda wins the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen to claim his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship; wins by 19.5 points from Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil.
1980 Australian Williams driver Alan Jones wins the United States East Grand Prix to claim his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship; wins by 13 points from Nelson Piquet of Brazil.
2004 Arsenal signed a £100m deal with Emirates Airlines to name their new 60,000-seater ground Emirates Stadium. Finished in 2006, the Emirates replaced Highbury as the home of Arsenal after 113 years.
2006 Jeffrey Borer, owner of the company that sold Michael Jackson his private Gulfstream jet, is sentenced to six months in prison for ordering employee Arvel Jett Reeves to install two video cameras in it in order to catch Jackson saying something for which he could be blackmailed.
2018 Banksy work "Girl With Balloon" automatically shreds moments after being sold for 1 million pounds in London, renamed "Love is in the Bin"
This week in 1981, DEPECHE MODE released their debut album SPEAK & SPELL, (October 5, 1981).
The group's only album to feature Vince Clarke, it peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart, and was ranked number 991 in the book 'All-Time Top 1000 Albums'. The album spawned two singles NEW LIFE and JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH.
On this date 1974, Mike Oldfields 'Tubular Bells' went to No.1 for the first time on the UK album chart 15 months after being released (Oct 5, 1974)
It went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide.
What is now considered the "Theme from The Exorcist", i.e. the piano-based melody which opens the first part of Tubular Bells, the 1973 debut album by English progressive rock musician Mike Oldfield, became very popular after the film's release, although Oldfield himself was not impressed with the way his work was used.
1769 English explorer Captain James Cook, aboard the Endeavour, discovered New Zealand.
1854 The Great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead started shortly after midnight, leading to 53 deaths and hundreds injured in a series of fires and an explosion. The initial fire started in a mill and large quantities of oil in the premises added fuel to the fire. The explosion, which could be heard 10 miles away, was thought to be the result of storing 2800 tons of sulphur and 128 tons of nitrate of soda in one of the warehouses.
1895 Conductor Sir Henry Wood instituted the Promenade Concerts; known worldwide as 'The Proms', at the Queen's Hall in London.
1927 "The Jazz Singer" starring Al Jolson released, 1st film with a soundtrack.
1939 Adolf Hitler denied any intention to wage war against Britain and France in an address to Reichstag.
1952 Agatha Christie's play "The Mousetrap" opens in London and ran continuously until 16 March 2020, when the stage performances had to be discontinued due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
1960 "Spartacus", directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier, premieres in NYC.
1980 John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols) sentenced to 3 months imprisonment on assault charges.
1985 Metropolitan police officer, PC Keith Blakelock, was hacked to death by up to 40 rioters on the Broadwater Farm Estate in Tottenham, North London against a backdrop of unrest between the police and local black communities.
1985 French McLaren driver Alain Prost clinches his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship with a 4th placing in the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch.
2013 Expenses documents showed that former cabinet minister Liam Fox successfully claimed 3p of taxpayers' money for a car journey of about 100 metres. The ex-defence secretary made another 15 claims of under £1 for car travel approved in 2012-13.
Five days short of his 19th birthday Bobby Charlton made his League debut for Manchester United against Charlton Athletic, scoring twice in United's 4-2 victory in front of a 41,439 crowd at Old Trafford. In the return match against Charlton in February he scored his first League hat-trick in a 5-1 victory at the Valley. Bobby Charlton went on to make 606 League appearances for United scoring 199 goals in those matches, both being club records at the time.
Football On This Day – 6th October 2001.
David Beckham became a national villain when he was sent off against Argentina in the match that saw England eliminated from the 1998 World Cup but all that was finally forgiven on this day in 2001. Going into their final qualifier for the 2002 World Cup finals England were level on points with Germany but had a better goal difference thanks to that famous 5-1 victory in Germany. So England needed to at least match Germany's result to automatically qualify - England were at home to Greece and Germany were at home to Finland. Germany's match ended before England's - Germany drawing with Finland. So England needed to at least draw with Greece to automatically qualify but sadly the match didn't go to script and in the 93rd minute Greece were leading 2-1. But then England got a free kick. From around 30 yards on his home pitch - Old Trafford - David Beckham fired in a perfect free kick which hit the back of the net. A 2-2 draw, Beckham a national hero, England qualified for the finals automatically and Germany finished second and went to the play-offs.
On this date in 1978, THE JAM released the single DOWN IN THE TUBE STATION AT MIDNIGHT, (October 6th 1978).
With its classic intro of an Underground train pulling in at St John's Wood Station, ‘Down In A Tube Station At Midnight’ had its protagonist about to be kicked to pieces by a gang of right-wing thugs (“They smelled of pubs and Wormwood Scrubs, and too many right-wing meetings”) whilst buying his ticket (“I fumble for change, and pull out the Queen, smiling, beguiling”). Perhaps somewhat blunted by familiarity it’s easy to forget how subtle and assured Weller puts his message across in ‘Tube Station’. The subject is bringing “a take-away curry” home to his wife and the “whispers in the shadows” are closing in. And there is that final chilling twist in the tale: “I glanced back on my life And thought about my wife Cause they took the keys, and she'll think it's me.”
Released on VHS video in October 1983, the clip here features MADNESS partnering with UB40 to deliver three classics from their respective bands, THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING, MADNESS and ONE IN TEN.
“On April 30, 1983, Madness partnered UB40 at a concert at the London Victoria Apollo, a fund-raising event aimed at campaigning against the building of the Sizewell B nuclear power station on the coast of Suffolk,” wrote John Reed in ‘House of Fun: The Story of Madness‘.
“UB40's Ali Campbell, Norman Hassan, Astro and Brian Travers joined Madness for a rendition of their Prince Buster namesake while all seven Nutty Boys returned the favour when UB40 played their classic hit, 'One In Ten', with Suggs and Cathal on backing vocals.”
“Clips of the performances were aired as part of a wider programme about the campaign, entitled Too Hot To Handle. Despite the gravitas of the occasion, Suggs quipped: "Why have the police enforced the new seat belt law? So you won't fall out of the car when you get shot."
1922 The first royal broadcast was made, by the Prince of Wales, on 2LO, 11 days before it changed its named to the BBC.
1939 Judy Garland, 16, records "Over The Rainbow" for the movie The Wizard of Oz.
1946 The BBC presented its first edition of Woman's Hour, a daily programme of music, advice and entertainment for those in the home. The programme included an item on how to de-slime your flannels and also broadcast the first episode of the thriller serial 'D1ck Barton, Special Agent'.
1959 Three hundred people were rescued after being cut off by a blaze on Southend's pier, (the world's longest pleasure pier on England's south-east coast).
1965 50 mph gust helps Robert Mitera ace 447-yd 10th hole at Miracle Hills, Omaha, Nebr to score world's longest straight hole-in-one.
1971 "The French Connection" starring Gene Hackman premieres in the US.
1973 Scotsman Jackie Stewart wins his 3rd Formula 1 World Drivers Championship despite withdrawing from the season ending US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen; wins title by 16 points from Emerson Fittipaldi.
1977 Guitarist Steve Hackett quits Genesis.
1983 Plans to abolish the Greater London Council (GLC) were announced.
1986 A new British newspaper, The Independent, was published.
2000 A World Cup qualifier against Germany seemed the perfect fixture for the final match at the old Wembley. But the twin towers didn't get the send off they deserved with a poor England display and a Dietmar Hamann goal giving the victory to Germany. Soon after the final whistle England manager Kevin Keegan said that he 'wasn't up to the job' and he resigned while in the Wembley toilets.
1908 The Wind In The Willows, Kenneth Grahame's classic children's book, was published. It has never been out of print in its entire history.
1915 The Battle of Loos, one of the fiercest of World War I, ended with virtually no gains for either side. Almost 430,000 French, British and Germans were killed. The British used poison gas for the first time in the battle.
1925 Eileen Joel, daughter of millionaire racehorse owner Jim Joel, became the first female jockey to win an 'open' race. She triumphed in the four-mile Town Plate at Newmarket riding Hogier. The race, which dates back to 1665, featured five women in the field of eight jockeys.
1927 "The Second Hundred Years" silent short film released starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy - 1st Laurel and Hardy film with them appearing as a team.
1945 Microwave oven patented by US inventor Percy Spencer.
1962 North Korea reports 100% election turnout, miraculously 100% vote for the Workers' Party.
1965 London's Post Office Tower, once Britain's tallest building, opened. Prime Minister Harold Wilson made the first telephone call.
1967 A motorist in Somerset becomes the first person to be breathalysed in Britain.
1971 John Lennon releases his single "Imagine"
1973 London Broadcasting Company, Britain's first legal commercial radio station, began transmitting.
1994 The Sunday Times alleged that Margaret Thatcher's son Mark, had received £12 million commission from a £20 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia, negotiated whilst she was Prime Minister.
1998 US House of Representatives votes to begin impeachment hearings against President Bill Clinton on charges of lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky.
2005 The homecoming to Manchester of Real Madrid's David Beckham proved not to be a happy one. He was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in the World Cup qualifier against Austria at Old Trafford and so became the first player to be sent off twice while playing for England. He wasn't too chuffed.
1470 Henry VI of England was restored to the throne after being deposed in 1461. Six months later he was deposed again and then murdered in the Tower of London.
1779 The first 'Luddite' riots broke out in a lace factory in Loughborough as workers protested against labour-saving machinery which was likely to make them redundant. Similar riots begin at a spinning cotton factory in Manchester.
1799 The sinking of HMS Lutine off the coast of Holland, with the loss of 240 men. The ship's bell was salvaged from the wreck and was later presented to shipping insurers Lloyds of London. The Lutine Bell has been rung ever since to mark a marine disaster.
1897 Henry Stumey set off in his 4.5hp Daimler from Land's End, and became the first person to drive to John o' Groats. His 929 mile journey took him 10 days.
1940 The birth of John Lennon, rock singer, songwriter and a founder member of The Beatles.
1955 Three armed men raided a Turkish bath in London, but the well heeled customers were wearing very little clothing, and the robbers' total haul was only £7.
1961 Britain's youngest ever Conservative MP, Margaret Thatcher, was given her first governmental job.
1984 Thomas The Tank Engine And Friends begins its run on BBC-TV, featuring a narrator by the name of Ringo Starr.
1986 The musical The Phantom of the Opera had its first performance at Her Majesty's Theatre in London.
1996 Probably the most bizarre abandoned international was a Scotland World Cup qualifier. They were due to play Estonia in an evening kick off in Tallinn but after Scotland objected to the temporary floodlights as not being up to standard FIFA brought forward the match to an afternoon ko. Estonia were not too chuffed at that and when Scotland kicked off at the appointed time they were the only side on the pitch! To the chants from the 1000 or so present 'One team in Tallinn, there's only one team in Tallinn' the referee abandoned the game after just three seconds. The match was ordered to be replayed at a neutral venue (Monaco).
Comments
Ian Dury was a true one-off. An art school lecturer with a pub rock past, his 1977 calling card NEW BOOTS AND PANTIES welded working-class estuary wit and musical hall sensibilities to wildly inspired jazz rock flights of fancy.
Spending over a year in the albums chart (while unbelievably spawning nothing in the way of hit singles), the record's success kept Stiff Records afloat before the pop machine that was Madness came along...
1661 Yachting begins in England as King Charles II beats his brother James, Duke of York in a yacht race from Greenwich to Gravesend.
1843 The News of the World, Britain's most popular Sunday newspaper, was first published. It was, at one time, the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, but amid a public backlash after allegations of phone hacking, News International announced the closure of the newspaper on 7th July 2011.
1868 The Midland Railway opened St. Pancras station in London.
1870 The first British halfpenny postage stamp, in lilac, was issued.
1906 The first hot-air balloon race was staged at Whitley, Yorkshire and was won by US Army Lieutenant Frank Lahm.
1908 Henry Ford introduces the Model T car.
1936 The BBC began regular TV broadcasts from Alexandra Palace, north London.
1954 The UK Top 12 Pop Chart became a Top 20.
1957 A vaccine against the strain of influenza that had been sweeping around the world was made available to the British public.
1961 The Beach Boys record their debut single "Surfin", introducing a new musical style.
1969 Concorde 001 test flight breaks sound barrier.
1962 The Beatles sign their first real management contract with Brian Epstein, with George's and Paul's fathers signing for their sons, who are still minors. Epstein gets 25 percent of the group's earnings.
1974 "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" horror film premieres in director Tobe Hooper's hometown, Austin, Texas in the US.
1974 The first McDonalds restaurant opened in London.
1974 British boxer John Conteh became Light Heavyweight Champion of the World.
1975 "The Thrilla in Manila"; Muhammad Ali stops Joe Frazier in 14 rounds in Quezon City, the Philippines to retain his WBC/WBA heavyweight title.
1977 Brazilian soccer great Pelé plays his final game for the New York Cosmos in an exhibition against Santos in front of 75,000 at Giants Stadium; 1,281 goals in 1,363 games.
1982 The Sony CDP-101, world's first commercially released Compact Disc player released in Japan for 168,000 yen ($730).
1993 In his first World Boxing Council heavyweight title defence Lennox Lewis beats fellow Londoner Frank Bruno by TKO in 7 at the National Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
1996 After weeks of speculation and waiting Arsène Wenger finally has his first day in charge of Arsenal. He was not a universally popular appointment. Ex Barcelona manager Johan Cruyff had been favourite for the job so the appointment of an unknown Frenchman managing Grampus Eight in Japan was met by a London Evening Standard headline of ‘Arsene who?’ and a nation trying to come to terms with how to pronounce his name. Things would change.
2014 The vehicle tax disc, first introduced in 1921, ceased to exist in paper form from 1st October, with a new electronic system being put in its place.
2017 Former NFL star O.J. Simpson is released from Nevada's Lovelock Prison after less than 9 years of detention of his 33 year sentence for armed robbery and kidnapping.
2017 During Jason Aldean's headlining set at the Route 91 Harvest festival on the Las Vegas strip, a gunman opens fire from his suite at the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel, killing 58 and injuring over 500 in the deadliest mass shooting in US history.
1866 J Osterhoudt patents tin can with key opener.
1872 Phileas Fogg sets out on his journey as depicted in Jules Verne's "Around the World in Eighty Days"
1901 The Royal Navy's first submarine, built by Vickers, was launched at Barrow. The company's shipbuilding division is now BAE Systems Submarine Solutions.
1909 The first rugby football match was played at Twickenham, between Harlequins and Richmond.
1925 London's first red buses with roofed-in upper decks went into service, but they had been in use in Widnes, Cheshire, since 1909.
1925 John Logie Baird performed the first test of a working television system. Although Baird's electromechanical system was eventually displaced by purely electronic systems, his early successes earned him a prominent place in television's invention.
1945 Elvis Presley, just ten years old, makes his first public appearance at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show singing "Old Shep" in a talent contest. He comes in second.
1950 Legal Aid was introduced in Britain.
1953 A photograph of William Pettit, wanted for murder, was shown on BBC TV at the request of the police - the first time in Britain that television was used to help find a wanted man.
1954 Elvis Presley bombs at the Grand Ole Opry, which does not approve of his take on traditional country music. The Opry's talent director, Jim Denny, famously tells Presley he should go back to driving a truck. Elvis swears never to return.
1957 "The Bridge on the River Kwai" is released.
1971 It was nice to see you, to see you nice, when The Generation Game first aired, hosted by Bruce Forsyth and Anthea Redfern.
1977 After a plot is uncovered to steal it, Elvis Presley's body is moved from its Memphis mausoleum to its final resting place in the Meditation Garden at Graceland.
1980 38 year old Muhammad Ali comes out of 2-year retirement to challenge undefeated world heavyweight champion Larry Holmes at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas; Ali pounded unmercifully for 10 rounds before corner throws in towel.
1983 Neil Kinnock was elected leader of Britain's Labour Party, with Roy Hattersley joining him as deputy.
1984 Papa John's Pizza is founded by John Schnatter in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
1988 Future world heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis, representing Canada, wins super-heavyweight gold medal at the Seoul Olympics; beats American Riddick Bowe by 2nd round TKO.
1991 Ron Chassidy (who had been jailed for not paying his poll tax) was released after a 'whip-round' at his local pub so that he could play in a dominoes match.
1995 British band Oasis release their album "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" it sells a record 347,000 copies in the 1st week and makes worldwide stars of the rock band.
2018 Saudi American journalist Jamal Khashoggi enters the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, never to be seen again prompting a diplomatic crisis.
The idea of using red and yellow cards by referees was credited to Ken Ashton. An Englishman, he had refereed at the top level and was well-versed in the problems refs had communicating with players, particularly when differing languages were concerned. As he was driving down Kensington High Street in London a traffic light in front of him turned red. He thought what was good enough for the traffic would be perfect for referees - 'Yellow, take it easy; red, stop, you're off’. The cards were trialed at the 1970 World Cup finals in Mexico and it was in 1976 that they were introduced in the Football League. On Saturday 2nd October 1976 the first two players were red-carded in the Football League. The first was David Wagstaff of Blackburn Rovers after 36 minutes of their Second Division match at Orient after arguing with the ref. The second came in the 67th minute of another Second Division match when a Fulham player was red-carded for foul language at Southampton. That Fulham player was George Best - guess which player got the most publicity.
On the show to promote their forthcoming debut album (The Specials, 19th Oct) and new single A MESSAGE TO YOU RUDY (Oct 27th), The Specials also performed TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG, the future follow-up (live) single to ‘Rudy’.
"This should have been our next single but they wouldn't play it on the radio," explained Terry Hall, introducing Too Much Too Young.
Despite his protestations, the single wasn’t actually banned by the BBC for the mention of contraception in the lyrics. However, the TOTP broadcast of the promo video did cut short before reaching the final line, "try wearing a cap".
It's also PHIL OAKEY's 66th Birthday today! (born 2 Oct 1955)
1283 Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd and the last independent ruler of Wales, became the first nobleman to be executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered; for plotting the death of King Edward I. Dafydd was dragged through the streets of Shrewsbury attached to a horse's tail then hanged alive, revived, then disembowelled and his entrails burned before him before being cut into four quarters.
1811 The first recorded women's county cricket match - between Hampshire and Surrey at Newington.
1906 SOS became the international distress signal, replacing the call sign CDQ, sometimes explained as ‘Come **** Quick!’
1932 Iraq gained independence from Britain. In 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Republic of Iraq was created.
1952 Britain's first atomic bomb was detonated on the Monte Bello Islands, off W. Australia.
1952 News of the end of tea rationing meant the prospect of unlimited 'cuppas' for the first time in 12 years.
1959 Postcodes were introduced in Britain.
1971 Scotsman Jackie Stewart finishes 5th in the season ending US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen to claim his second Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by 29 points from Swede Ronnie Peterson.
1995 Former NFL running back, broadcaster and actor O.J. Simpson found not guilty of the murder of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman in Los Angeles, California.
2008 Former NFL star O.J. Simpson found guilty of charges of kidnapping and armed robbery.
2012 Cristiano Ronaldo scores his first Champions League hat-trick in Real Madrid's 4-1 win against Ajax in Amsterdam.
2014 The cast and crew of the BBC's Top Gear had to abandon their vehicles and flee Argentina after they were pelted with stones. A crowd was incensed that one of their vehicles had a number plate (H982 FKL) that appeared to refer to the Falklands conflict of 1982.
2015 Host nation England crashes out of Rugby World Cup in pool stage; loses to Australia, 33-13 at Twickenham.
2018 Most expensive whisky ever sold at auction for $1.1 million, the Macallan Valerio Adami 1926, in Edinburgh, Scotland.
1883 The Orient Express departs on its first official journey from Paris to Istanbul.
1895 1st US Open Men's Golf, Newport GC: Englishman Horace Rawlins wins inaugural event; beats Willie Dunn of Scotland by 2 strokes.
1911 Britain's first underground escalators were introduced. They connected the District Line and Piccadilly Line platforms at Earl's Court underground station in London.
1958 Aviation history was made when 2 British designed and built De Havilland Comet 4 airliners operated by BOAC (now British Airways) made the first scheduled jet passenger service flights across the North Atlantic.
1963 The Beatles made their first appearance on the ITV show Ready Steady Go!
1965 The BBC announced it would begin broadcasting a new programme for immigrants.
1970 Jochen Rindt of Austria posthumously clinches Formula 1 World Drivers Championship at the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen when contender Jacky Ickx finishes 4th; Rindt killed in a practice accident at the Italian GP at Monza 5/9/70.
1970 Janis Joplin is found dead at the Landmark Hotel in Los Angeles after a heroin overdose. She was just 27.
1973 The BBC broadcast the 500th edition of Top Of The Pops.
1976 British Rail began its new 125mph Intercity 'High Speed Train' service. At the time of its introduction it was the fastest diesel-powered train in regular service in the world and remained so for many years afterwards.
1983 The Scottish entrepreneur Richard Noble reached a world land speed record of 663.5mph at Nevada in his jet-powered car Thrust II.
2006 WikiLeaks is launched, created by internet activist Julian Assange.
2012 7-time Formula 1 world drivers champion Michael Schumacher of Germany announces his retirement from racing at the end of the season.
2013 London won the coveted title of number one 'C rap Town' in the UK, held for the previous decade by Hull.
2014 Newcastle United fans thought of a novel way of protesting against their manager, Alan Pardew, on an away-day Premier League visit to Swansea City. They unveiled an apt banner - 'Not a Welsh town, our form in 2014' - which detailed their poor playing form in 2014, mainly Ls and Ds. It proved to be an immediate hit with the media although a few newspapers did spend far too long listing all the Welsh towns that don't have a vowel in their name! For the record it was another D that day (2-2) while Pardew stayed in the job for another 3 months before deciding that a move to Crystal Palace would benefit his career.
2015 Liverpool sacked manager Brendan Rodgers following a 1-1 draw at Everton. The current Leicester City boss was dismissed after three and a half years in charge at Anfield. He led the Reds to second place in the 2013-14 Premier League season, however they sat 10th in the table following their point in the Merseyside derby in October 2015. Former Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp was appointed as his successor a few days later.
The formation of Arsenal F.C.
The story starts back in 1886 when a number of men who worked in the Dial Square workshop of the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich decided to form a cricket team. It was very much “say what you see” back in those days and they called themselves Dial Square Cricket Club.
At the club’s end of year smoking concert on 4 October 1886 they decided to form a football club to give themselves something to occupy their Saturday afternoons with. They chose the obvious name of Dial Square Football Club.
They were led by a Scotsman, David Danskin, who purchased the club's first football, and Jack Humble. Among their number was the former Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Fred Beardsley, who would later along with Morris Bates obtain a set of red kits from his old club, thus giving Arsenal the colours they still wear today.
Dial Square played their first match on 11 December 1886 against Eastern Wanderers on an open field on the Isle of Dogs, which they won 6–0.
First Division / Premier League.
Winners (13): 1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1947–48, 1952–53, 1970–71, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04.
FA Cup.
Winners (14) (record): 1929–30, 1935–36, 1949–50, 1970–71, 1978–79, 1992–93, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2019–20.
European Cup Winners' Cup.
Winners (1): 1993–94.
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Winners (1): 1969–70.
League Cup.
Winners (2): 1986–87, 1992–93.
League Centenary Trophy.
Winners (1) (record): 1988.
1796 Spain declared war on Britain in the Napoleonic Wars.
1895 The first individual time trial for racing cyclists was held on a 50 mile course north of London.
1916 Adolf Hitler is wounded in the left thigh by an exploding shell during the Battle of the Somme.
1917 Sir Arthur Lee donated Chequers in Buckinghamshire to the nation as a permanent country retreat for British Prime Ministers.
1927 At its conference in Blackpool, the Labour Party voted to nationalise the coal industry.
1930 The British airship R101 crashed at the edge of a wood near Beauvais in France en route to India on its maiden voyage, killing 48 of the 54 passengers, including the British Air Minister Lord Thompson who may well have contributed to the disaster. He brought luggage on board equivalent to the weight of about 24 people, and the crash of the 777 foot craft was thought to be a result of overloading.
1933 Gordon Richards, English champion jockey, rode his 12th consecutive win in 3 days.
1936 The start of the 'Jarrow March' - around 200 unemployed shipyard workers from Jarrow in north east England began walking to London to protest about the lack of jobs. The protestors arrived on 31st October.Only men participated in the historic march, apart from Jarrow's female MP, Ellen Wilkinson.
1958 Cliff Richard & The Shadows played their first gig together (Victoria Hall, Hanley).
1962 In Britain, an emerging pop group, 'The Beatles' released their first hit record 'Love Me Do'.
1962 Dr. No, the first James Bond film, was released. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name it starred Sean Connery as the secret agent 007. The film was produced with a low budget, the first of a successful series of 22 Bond films.
1967 For the first time in Britain, a court in Brighton accepted a 'majority verdict' from a jury instead of the usual 'unanimous verdict' required previously.
1969 The first episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus aired on BBC. In all, 45 episodes were created over four series, from 1969 to 1974, plus two episodes for German TV. The series' theme song was the first segment of John Philip Sousa's The Liberty Bell, chosen because it was in the public domain and was free to use without charge.
1973 "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" album by Elton John is released.
1975 Austrian Niki Lauda wins the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen to claim his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship; wins by 19.5 points from Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil.
1980 Australian Williams driver Alan Jones wins the United States East Grand Prix to claim his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship; wins by 13 points from Nelson Piquet of Brazil.
2004 Arsenal signed a £100m deal with Emirates Airlines to name their new 60,000-seater ground Emirates Stadium. Finished in 2006, the Emirates replaced Highbury as the home of Arsenal after 113 years.
2006 Jeffrey Borer, owner of the company that sold Michael Jackson his private Gulfstream jet, is sentenced to six months in prison for ordering employee Arvel Jett Reeves to install two video cameras in it in order to catch Jackson saying something for which he could be blackmailed.
2018 Banksy work "Girl With Balloon" automatically shreds moments after being sold for 1 million pounds in London, renamed "Love is in the Bin"
The group's only album to feature Vince Clarke, it peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart, and was ranked number 991 in the book 'All-Time Top 1000 Albums'.
The album spawned two singles NEW LIFE and JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH.
It went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide.
What is now considered the "Theme from The Exorcist", i.e. the piano-based melody which opens the first part of Tubular Bells, the 1973 debut album by English progressive rock musician Mike Oldfield, became very popular after the film's release, although Oldfield himself was not impressed with the way his work was used.
1769 English explorer Captain James Cook, aboard the Endeavour, discovered New Zealand.
1854 The Great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead started shortly after midnight, leading to 53 deaths and hundreds injured in a series of fires and an explosion. The initial fire started in a mill and large quantities of oil in the premises added fuel to the fire. The explosion, which could be heard 10 miles away, was thought to be the result of storing 2800 tons of sulphur and 128 tons of nitrate of soda in one of the warehouses.
1895 Conductor Sir Henry Wood instituted the Promenade Concerts; known worldwide as 'The Proms', at the Queen's Hall in London.
1927 "The Jazz Singer" starring Al Jolson released, 1st film with a soundtrack.
1939 Adolf Hitler denied any intention to wage war against Britain and France in an address to Reichstag.
1952 Agatha Christie's play "The Mousetrap" opens in London and ran continuously until 16 March 2020, when the stage performances had to be discontinued due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
1960 "Spartacus", directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier, premieres in NYC.
1968 The first three places in the US Grand Prix were taken by British drivers: Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill and John Surtees.
1978 "Midnight Express" film premieres.
1980 John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols) sentenced to 3 months imprisonment on assault charges.
1985 Metropolitan police officer, PC Keith Blakelock, was hacked to death by up to 40 rioters on the Broadwater Farm Estate in Tottenham, North London against a backdrop of unrest between the police and local black communities.
1985 French McLaren driver Alain Prost clinches his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship with a 4th placing in the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch.
2013 Expenses documents showed that former cabinet minister Liam Fox successfully claimed 3p of taxpayers' money for a car journey of about 100 metres. The ex-defence secretary made another 15 claims of under £1 for car travel approved in 2012-13.
Five days short of his 19th birthday Bobby Charlton made his League debut for Manchester United against Charlton Athletic, scoring twice in United's 4-2 victory in front of a 41,439 crowd at Old Trafford. In the return match against Charlton in February he scored his first League hat-trick in a 5-1 victory at the Valley. Bobby Charlton went on to make 606 League appearances for United scoring 199 goals in those matches, both being club records at the time.
Football On This Day – 6th October 2001.
David Beckham became a national villain when he was sent off against Argentina in the match that saw England eliminated from the 1998 World Cup but all that was finally forgiven on this day in 2001. Going into their final qualifier for the 2002 World Cup finals England were level on points with Germany but had a better goal difference thanks to that famous 5-1 victory in Germany. So England needed to at least match Germany's result to automatically qualify - England were at home to Greece and Germany were at home to Finland. Germany's match ended before England's - Germany drawing with Finland. So England needed to at least draw with Greece to automatically qualify but sadly the match didn't go to script and in the 93rd minute Greece were leading 2-1. But then England got a free kick. From around 30 yards on his home pitch - Old Trafford - David Beckham fired in a perfect free kick which hit the back of the net. A 2-2 draw, Beckham a national hero, England qualified for the finals automatically and Germany finished second and went to the play-offs.
With its classic intro of an Underground train pulling in at St John's Wood Station, ‘Down In A Tube Station At Midnight’ had its protagonist about to be kicked to pieces by a gang of right-wing thugs (“They smelled of pubs and Wormwood Scrubs, and too many right-wing meetings”) whilst buying his ticket (“I fumble for change, and pull out the Queen, smiling, beguiling”).
Perhaps somewhat blunted by familiarity it’s easy to forget how subtle and assured Weller puts his message across in ‘Tube Station’. The subject is bringing “a take-away curry” home to his wife and the “whispers in the shadows” are closing in.
And there is that final chilling twist in the tale:
“I glanced back on my life
And thought about my wife
Cause they took the keys, and she'll think it's me.”
“On April 30, 1983, Madness partnered UB40 at a concert at the London Victoria Apollo, a fund-raising event aimed at campaigning against the building of the Sizewell B nuclear power station on the coast of Suffolk,” wrote John Reed in ‘House of Fun: The Story of Madness‘.
“UB40's Ali Campbell, Norman Hassan, Astro and Brian Travers joined Madness for a rendition of their Prince Buster namesake while all seven Nutty Boys returned the favour when UB40 played their classic hit, 'One In Ten', with Suggs and Cathal on backing vocals.”
“Clips of the performances were aired as part of a wider programme about the campaign, entitled Too Hot To Handle. Despite the gravitas of the occasion, Suggs quipped: "Why have the police enforced the new seat belt law? So you won't fall out of the car when you get shot."
1922 The first royal broadcast was made, by the Prince of Wales, on 2LO, 11 days before it changed its named to the BBC.
1939 Judy Garland, 16, records "Over The Rainbow" for the movie The Wizard of Oz.
1946 The BBC presented its first edition of Woman's Hour, a daily programme of music, advice and entertainment for those in the home. The programme included an item on how to de-slime your flannels and also broadcast the first episode of the thriller serial 'D1ck Barton, Special Agent'.
1959 Three hundred people were rescued after being cut off by a blaze on Southend's pier, (the world's longest pleasure pier on England's south-east coast).
1965 50 mph gust helps Robert Mitera ace 447-yd 10th hole at Miracle Hills, Omaha, Nebr to score world's longest straight hole-in-one.
1971 "The French Connection" starring Gene Hackman premieres in the US.
1973 Scotsman Jackie Stewart wins his 3rd Formula 1 World Drivers Championship despite withdrawing from the season ending US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen; wins title by 16 points from Emerson Fittipaldi.
1977 Guitarist Steve Hackett quits Genesis.
1983 Plans to abolish the Greater London Council (GLC) were announced.
1986 A new British newspaper, The Independent, was published.
2000 A World Cup qualifier against Germany seemed the perfect fixture for the final match at the old Wembley. But the twin towers didn't get the send off they deserved with a poor England display and a Dietmar Hamann goal giving the victory to Germany. Soon after the final whistle England manager Kevin Keegan said that he 'wasn't up to the job' and he resigned while in the Wembley toilets.
2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan starts with an air assault and covert operations on the ground.
2018 Jodie Whittaker debuts in her first full episode as the 13th and first female Doctor Who on BBC television.
1908 The Wind In The Willows, Kenneth Grahame's classic children's book, was published. It has never been out of print in its entire history.
1915 The Battle of Loos, one of the fiercest of World War I, ended with virtually no gains for either side. Almost 430,000 French, British and Germans were killed. The British used poison gas for the first time in the battle.
1925 Eileen Joel, daughter of millionaire racehorse owner Jim Joel, became the first female jockey to win an 'open' race. She triumphed in the four-mile Town Plate at Newmarket riding Hogier. The race, which dates back to 1665, featured five women in the field of eight jockeys.
1927 "The Second Hundred Years" silent short film released starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy - 1st Laurel and Hardy film with them appearing as a team.
1945 Microwave oven patented by US inventor Percy Spencer.
1962 North Korea reports 100% election turnout, miraculously 100% vote for the Workers' Party.
1965 London's Post Office Tower, once Britain's tallest building, opened. Prime Minister Harold Wilson made the first telephone call.
1967 A motorist in Somerset becomes the first person to be breathalysed in Britain.
1971 John Lennon releases his single "Imagine"
1973 London Broadcasting Company, Britain's first legal commercial radio station, began transmitting.
1976 Sex Pistols sign with EMI.
1980 British Leyland launched the Mini Metro.
1992 Video game Mortal Kombat first released as a 2D fighting game by Midway Games.
1992 The first edition of Later with Jools Holland aired.
1994 The Sunday Times alleged that Margaret Thatcher's son Mark, had received £12 million commission from a £20 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia, negotiated whilst she was Prime Minister.
1998 US House of Representatives votes to begin impeachment hearings against President Bill Clinton on charges of lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky.
2005 The homecoming to Manchester of Real Madrid's David Beckham proved not to be a happy one. He was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in the World Cup qualifier against Austria at Old Trafford and so became the first player to be sent off twice while playing for England. He wasn't too chuffed.
1470 Henry VI of England was restored to the throne after being deposed in 1461. Six months later he was deposed again and then murdered in the Tower of London.
1779 The first 'Luddite' riots broke out in a lace factory in Loughborough as workers protested against labour-saving machinery which was likely to make them redundant. Similar riots begin at a spinning cotton factory in Manchester.
1799 The sinking of HMS Lutine off the coast of Holland, with the loss of 240 men. The ship's bell was salvaged from the wreck and was later presented to shipping insurers Lloyds of London. The Lutine Bell has been rung ever since to mark a marine disaster.
1897 Henry Stumey set off in his 4.5hp Daimler from Land's End, and became the first person to drive to John o' Groats. His 929 mile journey took him 10 days.
1940 The birth of John Lennon, rock singer, songwriter and a founder member of The Beatles.
1955 Three armed men raided a Turkish bath in London, but the well heeled customers were wearing very little clothing, and the robbers' total haul was only £7.
1961 Britain's youngest ever Conservative MP, Margaret Thatcher, was given her first governmental job.
1984 Thomas The Tank Engine And Friends begins its run on BBC-TV, featuring a narrator by the name of Ringo Starr.
1986 The musical The Phantom of the Opera had its first performance at Her Majesty's Theatre in London.
1996 Probably the most bizarre abandoned international was a Scotland World Cup qualifier. They were due to play Estonia in an evening kick off in Tallinn but after Scotland objected to the temporary floodlights as not being up to standard FIFA brought forward the match to an afternoon ko. Estonia were not too chuffed at that and when Scotland kicked off at the appointed time they were the only side on the pitch! To the chants from the 1000 or so present 'One team in Tallinn, there's only one team in Tallinn' the referee abandoned the game after just three seconds. The match was ordered to be replayed at a neutral venue (Monaco).